


Love for the Fight

by BottleOfAwesomeSauce



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adult Romance, Multi, New story, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Story - Freeform, Romance, new authors, wattpad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-01-08 08:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21232796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BottleOfAwesomeSauce/pseuds/BottleOfAwesomeSauce
Summary: She was an ordinary medical resident minding her own business.He was a flirtatious MMA fighter with a bruised  nose.They were two very different people living very different lives who somehow managed to get themselves caught up in a whirlwind of coincidences and surprises .This is their story.





	1. Chapter 1

Aaliyah sighs as she thinks about a few of her most recent patients. A man who had managed to get a lightbulb stuck in his mouth, a woman who had four marbles stuck up her nose, and a kid who had ring worms all over his body. Aaliyah shudders at the thought. Little did she know that being a doctor came with such grotesque work. There is an exhausted look on her face as she approaches Hope.

"I don't know if I can handle anymore patients," she says with a sigh.

Hope laughs as she hands Aaliyah a file, "Well this should be your last patient for the night."

Aaliyah reluctantly grabs the file. As she starts walking away she opens the file.

"Dominick Moreno," she reads and she opens the file, "He sounds like he's apart of the Italian mafia," she remarks with a laugh.

When Aaliyah enters the room she's met with the sight of a tall, beautiful woman with short, curly, brown hair standing over a man. She appears to be scolding him for something. The man has dark hair and is holding his nose.

As she approaches Aaliyah overhears the man say "I was just trying to protect you." They stop talking once they notice Aaliyah's presence.

"Hello Dominick, I'm Dr.Johnson. It says here, that you broke your nose. I'm just going to examine it," Aaliyah says as she puts the file down and reaches for Dominick's nose.

"You can examine any part of my body," Dominick says with a small smirk on his face.

Aaliyah rolls her eyes, unimpressed. If she had a dollar for every time a patient hit on her, she wouldn't have to worry about repaying student loans.

"I'll go get something to snack on while you're being checked," the brown haired woman announces while walking out the door.

As Aaliyah examines Dominick's nose he stares at her.

"You have very beautiful eyes," Dominick remarks.

She chuckles, ignoring his comment.

"So you're just going to ignore me?", Dominick questions with a small smirk on his face.

"How would your girlfriend feel knowing that you're flirting with me?" Aaliyah asks as she finally finishes examining his nose.

Dominick laughs, "Who Kat? She's not my girlfriend. I'm sure she would prefer you over me," he replies.

Just as he finishes speaking Kat walks into the room with two bags of chips and two sodas. Aaliyah writes down a few things on her chart and puts the papers into a file.

"Your nose isn't broken, it's just bruised. All you need is some medicine for the pain and some ice for the swelling. You're free to leave."

"Wait!" Dominick exclaims before Aaliyah has the chance to leave the room.

"Can I have your card just in case I have anymore problems?".

"Nice try but I don't have business cards.If the swelling doesn't go down in three days come back," she says, rolling her eyes.

As Aaliyah is finally able to leave, she overhears Kat scolding him again.

"I can handle myself Dom, not everything has to be resolved with a fight."

Aaliyah rushes down the hall, avoiding any and all things that would prolong her time at the hospital. Most days she loves her job. Being able to interact with patients and their families and the joy of having helped save someone's life usually gave enough drive to keep going. But some days, like today, she felt as if becoming a doctor might not have been the right career choice. Then she thinks maybe she should have been a scientist like her father or pursue art like her sister, rather than go into the medical field like her mother. But it was too late for a change. She spent four years studying biology, two more in medical school, and now she was on her second year of residency. One more year and she would officially be an MD.

Exiting the hospital, Aaliyah's surprised to see Hope leaning against the building. Instantly, she notices the lit cigarette in her mouth.

"I thought you were trying to quit smoking."

Hope pulls it out, blowing smoke into the air.

"I was, but my mom just called. She said things weren't going so well with my dad."

Aaliyah immediately sympathizes with her friend. She knows all too well the pain of knowing there is nothing you can do to help end a persons suffering, especially if that person is someone who you deeply care about.

"Hope I'm so sorry, " she says.

"Don't be, he's still fighting. I'm actually out here because I wanted to talk to you."

Aaliyah wears a puzzled expression. What could she possibly want to talk about? Had she finally noticed that Aaliyah was the one who kept stealing her pens?

"Oh, don't play dumb. The last patient you had was cute, wasn't he?" Hope questions with an amused look on her face.

"I didn't really pay attention to his face. He was pretty annoying," Aaliyah replies shrugging her shoulders.

Hope sighs loudly, throwing her hands up into the air.

"I swear, you say that same sentence every time I ask about anything that involves yourself and any guy that shows interest in you."

It was true, Aaliyah wasn't very fond of meeting new people and building relationships with them outside of work. She had learned the hard way that those kinds of relationships never work out. At least, not for her.

"Maybe. But I don't date patients, nor do I take pleasure in observing how attractive they are. It's not professional."

Hope rolls her eyes. "Well apparently you don't date or observe people who aren't your patients either. How long has it been?"

One year, two months, and five days. But who was counting? Not her, she was officially over that jerk.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Aaliyah mumbles beginning to walk away.

Hope doesn't reply. Instead, she takes a puff of her cigarette, thinking of what a shame it is that her friend takes her beauty for granted.

As soon as Aaliyah arrives home, she kicks off her shoes and heads towards her room. Her body ached, but she knew the exact cure for her pain. A nice, long bath and sleep would do the trick. Just as she reaches her door the voice of her red-headed roommate stops her in her tracks.

"Wow. Not even a 'Hey Jade what up?' Or 'How ya doin' Jade?"

Aaliyah smiles and turns to face her, feeling exhausted, "I'm sorry, today's been a long ass day and it doesn't help that my last patient was annoying."

Jade laughs.

"Okay, I forgive you. You look like you need about twenty hours of sleep," she says, sympathetically.

Aaliyah sighs for the fifteenth time today.

"Make sure to remind me tomorrow to drink more coffee." 

Jade smiles and says, "I did today. That didn't change anything."

Aaliyah chuckles and continues towards the bathroom. "Maybe tomorrow will be different"

As Aaliyah walks down Glenwood Street, she takes in the scenery. Above her, the sun shines brightly and few clouds cover the sky. The streets are busy with cars and people. Many shops that Aaliyah pass by reminds her of her childhood. There were candy stores, bakeries, thrift stores, and diners. It wasn't very long ago that she would dine out with her family at one of the small restaurants. Nowadays they didn't have much time to spend quality time together.

Just as Aaliyah begins losing herself in her thoughts, she notices a familiar face. The annoying patient from yesterday appears and he's jogging right towards her. She quickly lowers her head, hoping he wouldn't notice who she was. To her surprise he continues past her. Relieved, Aaliyah raises her head and begins wondering how her day will be. As soon as she enters AngelStone Hospital, she'll probably be tasked with helping out someone who managed to get a fish hook stuck in their mouth or something crazy like that.

"Hey! It's you!" a voice snaps Aaliyah out of her thoughts.

She stops and turns to face her annoying patient from last night. He has on a gray sweatsuit and he's a bit sweaty.

"Oh, it's you," she says in an exasperated tone.

"Yeah it's me, the cute MMA fighter from last night."he says with a smirk.

"More like that annoying boxer from last night,"she replies, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not a boxer. I'm an MMA fighter."

"Same difference,"she says crossing her arms.

"There is a difference. How about you come see me fight on Saturday night at 8:30 at Big Joe's Gym and maybe you'll notice the difference."

Before Aaliyah turns around to continue walking after she says, "I'll think about it."


	2. Chapter 2

The break room is a pretty dull place to eat lunch. It has four round tables scattered across the floor, a large flat screen TV hanging on the light blue walls, and awards displayed around the room. Usually someone would leave treats for everyone to enjoy, but today the glass container was empty. Few employees were present, most nurses ate in the cafeteria and the doctors had just recently been given their own place to eat. Aaliyah sits in her regular seat across the table from Hope. A rather cliche comedy TV show plays low in the background.

Aaliyah doesn't mind listening to Hope go on and on about every little aspect of her day. At this very moment she was speaking about some sexy new married doctor whose been "flirting" with her. Aaliyah was very skeptical, asking question upon question about who exactly this doctor was and what caused Hope to suspect he has a crush on her. Apparently every doctor in her department, taken or single, has a thing for her.

"It's crazy because the married ones always throw themselves at me like I'm some..." she stops, searching for the right word.

"Promiscuous woman?" Aaliyah finishes Hopes sentence for her.

Hope rolls her eyes at her.

"If that's what you want to call it."

"You wouldn't feel that way if it weren't true," Aaliyah comments.

Hope rolls her eyes.

"I'm just social," she retorts.

"Sure. 'social'," Aaliyah says with distaste and air quotes around social.

"See, that's why your life is so boring. You'd rather stay here and work all day with your fake smile than get out into the real world and find someone who can actually make your smile real."

'Here she goes again,' Aaliyah thinks to herself.

"My life is not boring. I'm enjoying every second of it."

That was a lie. There were many things she would change about her life. Hope scoffs, not even close to believing her. She pops a fry in her mouth.

"You know what you need? Some spice in your life. Like that cute patient from last night. He looked like he was just about the right flavor." 

She raises her eyebrows with a devilish smile. Aaliyah looks blankly at her friend.

"I don't even want to think about him. I saw him on the way here and he had the nerve to invite me to some fight."

An expression of disbelief immediately covers Hope's face.

"He did what!? What did you say?" Hope exclaims excitedly.

"Just that I'd think about it," Aaliyah mumbles.

"We're definitely going to go see that fight. When is it?" Hope asks with a bright smile.

Aaliyah sighs and says,"It's tomorrow night at 8. Apparently it's happening at Big Joe's Gym."

Hope laughs, "Big Joe's Gym? That sounds like some basic gym from a corny romance story."

Aaliyah laughs along with Hope.

"Maybe we should go and invite Jade, you know she loves these kind of things", Hope says looking at Aaliyah hopefully.

Aaliyah sighs,"I'll think about it."

Hope smiles happily and they continue their conversation about everyone that is "in love" with Hope.

The rest of Aaliyah's day went by pretty fast. There were no odd or out of the ordinary patients and she managed to end her day happily with more than enough energy. 

On her way home Aaliyah couldn't help but think about what Hope said.

'You'd rather stay here and work all day with your fake smile than get out into the real world and find someone who can actually make your smile real.' 

Hope was right. Ever since Aaliyah's ex, Caleb broke up with her a year ago she hasn't been the same.

Aaliyah shakes her head in an attempt to erase the thought from her head. Now is not the time to dwell on the past, she needs to think about the present or her future. Maybe that cute boxer can be her future Aaliyah thinks as she laughs to herself.

"Hey roomie!", Aaliyah hears as she walks through the front door of her apartment.

There is a hint of garlic in the air. There is music playing quietly in the background as her red-headed roomate dances around the kitchen in a t-shirt and some shorts.

"What is going on here?", Aaliyah ask with a chuckle.

"Since you were so stressed yesterday and I had today off I decided to make your favorite meal for dinner. SPAGHETTI!", Jade exclaims.

This is why Aaliyah loves Jade. She's always been so caring and thoughtful. Aaliyah sits her stuff down and takes a seat at the table.

Jade places a plate full of spaghetti in front of her with some garlic bread.

"Bon appetit," she says as she smiles widely and claps her hands.

Before eating Aaliyah waits for Jade to take a seat beside her.

Before taking a bite of her food Jade asks, "So, how was your day?" 

"It was pretty great," Aaliyah replies.

"That's great. I know how stressful works been on you lately," Jade says.

"And I've been having a bit of a hard time at work myself," she continues. Aaliyah nods her head in agreement.

Jade bites her lip before continuing.

"So I was thinking maybe we should go out this weekend." Aaliyah opens her mouth to say something, but Jade cuts her off.

"Listen, I know what you're going to say, 'Jade we can just stay here and have fun' or 'Jade you know that I don't really like going out,' but Leah it's been so long since we've actually gotten out and enjoyed ourselves with other people," she pleads.

Again Aaliyah opens her mouth to speak but is quickly interrupted by Jades words.

"Hope told me all about the cute patient who also happen to be an MMA fighter and invited you to a fight tomorrow. I won't even lecture you about not telling me and you know how much I love watching fights."

After taking another bite of her spaghetti Aaliyah is finally able to speak.

"I guess I have been kind of a buzzkill lately. I've been thinking a little and I guess I should try to get out of my comfort zone a little more." Jades eyes light up at her response.

She waits patiently for Aaliyah to finish speaking.

"So I guess we can go," Aaliyah finishes. 

Jade jumps up and squeals loudly.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She hugs Aaliyah tightly.

Jade lets go of her and rushes over to the sink to put her plate in it.

"I have to figure out what I'm going to wear," she announces happily walking towards her room.

After finishing her food Aaliyah decides to text Hope about the new plans for tomorrow night. Almost immediately she receives a reply. 

'I knew you'd come through. I'll be at your house at 7:30 so we can meet up.' 

It has been quite a while since the three of them joined together to hang out. She couldn't help but feel excited for tomorrow. Just the thought of being able to spend quality time with her friends was enough to bring a big smile to her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ the next day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment after Aaliyah begins catching up on her favorite TV show, she hears a knock at the door.

"Leah! There's someone at the door can you get it? I'm curling my hair!" Jade yells.

Grumbling to herself Aaliyah pauses her show and rises from her position on the couch and scurries to the front door. Whoever was knocking on the door had began banging on it erratically. When she swings the door open she's met with Hope's brown eyes.

"Took you long enough," Hope greets her.

Aaliyah rolls her eyes and attempts to close the door in Hopes face, but Hope's foot stops it.

Then Hope slips past Aaliyah saying, "I still can't believe we're going."

"I can't either," Jade yells loudly.

"Jade you don't have to yell that loud our apartment isn't that big," Aaliyah says.

"Sorry," She yells even louder.

Hope sits down on the brown sofa in the living room and places her feet on the coffee table. Aaliyah follows her and sits beside her.

"Boy it's been awhile since I've been here. Nothings really changed," Hope speaks, looking around.

"You were here last week," Aaliyah comments. Hope crosses her arms.

"Well it feels like it's been forever."

Before they're able to continue their conversation Jade interrupts them with a clap.

"Okay guys, lets go." And with that they both got up and headed towards the door.

Once the trio arrives at Big Joe's gym they search for a place to stand with the perfect view. None of them had known how large the crowd would be, but after arriving they had realized it was a decent size. Jade had debriefed them on everything she knew about the gym. It was mostly well known it's infamous owner, Javier Moreno, a retired pro MMA fighter. Many amateur fighters had come from all over California seeking training.

Navigating their way through the crowd proved a bit harder than they had anticipated. They had to pushed their way through the crowd just to be able to see the fight. Finally, they were able to make their way close enough to the ring so the could see.

"Is that him?" Jade asks curiously, pointing at a man with dark hair in the ring.

Aaliyah quickly looks up to see the same man she was diagnosed with a bruised nose standing shirtless with some red shorts on.

"Yeah he's hot right?" Hope asks.

Jade taps Aaliyah on the shoulder.

"If you don't want him I'll gladly..." Before Jade is able to finish her sentence the announcer walks in the ring.

The announcer stands in the middle of the ring with a microphone in hand.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen! Tonight's fight is between the two most talented fighters in this gym. They will only be fighting for a total of ten minutes, with a two minute break after the first five minutes"

He points to Dominik.

"In this corner, standing at 6 '1 and weighing in at 207 pounds, we have have DOMINIK 'ACE' MORENO!"

The crowd goes wild. In the stands Aaliyah sees the pretty brown-headed girl from last night standing beside a tall man with blond hair.

"And in this corner, standing at 6 '2 and weighing in at 215 pounds, we have JAMES 'RAMPAGE' WALKER!", the announcer exclaims pointing at the tall well-built man, opposite of Dominik.

The crowd went wild again, especially some blonde who was jumping around like a lunatic.

DING DING DING, the bell rings for the fight to start. Dominik and his opponent tap gloves and start walking in circles, eyeing each other to see who would strike first. After about three minutes of circling each other Dominik takes the first swing. His opponent tries to dodge his swing, just to get with Dominik's other hand. Rampage stumbles back a little bit but quickly regains his balance. Before Dominik can hit him Rampage starts swinging. First he hits Dominik on the right side of his ribcage with one hand while protecting his face with the other. Then he quickly punches Dominik in the face, first with his left hand then with his right hand. Dominik tries to block him but he swings too fast and he ends up stumbling back. Luckily he regains balance fast enough to dodge Rampage's attempt to swing again. Domnik tries to throw a punch but Rampage dodges it. They spend the last 10 seconds circling each other again.

DING DING DING, the bell dings for the two minute break. Aaliyah sees Dominik sit in the corner as an older man gives him some water and a towel before giving what she assumes to be a pep talk. Dominik has a busted lip and a bloody cut by his eye. As the older man is speaking Aaliyah sees the pretty brown haired woman and the tall blond man walk up to them. The woman rubs Dominik's shoulder as the man gets into the ring and joins in with the pep talk. Aaliayh looks over to the corner that Rampage is sitting in and Aaliyah sees an older man giving him a pep talk as the blonde from earlier wipes his face and give him water. He seems to have a bruise forming lover his eye but nothing else.

DING DING DING, the bell rings for the fight to continue. Dominik and Rampage both get up and tap gloves again. They start circling each other again for the first two minutes. Then suddenly Dominik grabs Rampage's head and brings it to his knee. Afterwards he grabs Rampage and put him in a headlock. Rampage's nose is bleeding and he's struggling to breathe. He keeps trying to hit Dominik's arms and face to loosen his grip, but Dominik just squeezes even tighter. Rampage stops trying after five more seconds and taps out.

DING DING DING, the bell rings to signal the end of the match. Dominik helps Rampage up and they walk to the center of the ring. The announcer takes ahold of both of their hands.

"And the winner is...DOMINIK 'ACE' MORENO!"

The crowd goes wild. Dominik and Rampage exchange a few words and then hug. Afterwards Rampage walks towards the older man and the blonde woman from earlier. Dominick meets up with the older man he was talking to earlier and his two friends.

"Let's get out of here guys," Aaliyah says trying to rush out.

"What? No! You have to go and talk to the cute patient!", Jade exclaims.

"No need to worry about that he's making his way over here!," Hope says.

All three girls turn around to see Dominik making his way towards them with a smirk on his face. He's still shirtless with his red shorts riding low on his waist. The girls can't help but gawk at his muscles glistening with sweat.

"Hey it's the cute doctor," Dominik says when he finally approaches them.

Hope and Jade step back a little so they can talk.

"Hey it's the annoying patient," Aaliyah replies, trying to hold back a smile.

Dominik notices and his smirk grows.

"I appreciate you coming to see me fight," he says.

"Well my friend is a fan of MMA fighting and she convinced me to come,"Aaliyah replies as she nods in Jade's direction. Dominik looks at Aaliyah's friends and then look at her face again. 

Before he can say anything his friends call out to him, "We're going to the bar Dom! Are you coming?"

Dominik looks at them and shouts, "Yeah just give me a sec!"

With that his friends wave and leave the gym. Dominik turns to Aaliyah with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Maybe you should come with us? You can bring your friends," Dominik suggests.

Aaliyah thinks about the conversation she had with Jade yesterday. Maybe this can be her chance to get out there.

"Let me ask my friends," Aaliyah says before walking towards Jade and Hope.

"He wants to know if we want to go get drinks with him and his friends," Aaliyah tells her friends.

"Hell yeah!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

Aaliyah laughs as she goes to tell Dominik.

"Ok, we'll drink with you and your friends. What bar should we meet at?" Aaliyah questions.

"It's called LUX. It's right around the corner. I'll see you there," Dominik says with a wink, walking away.


	3. Chapter 3

When Hope, Jade, and Aaliyah get to LUX they are hit with loud music and people dancing. Some song is playing loudly in the background as people grind on each other.

"It smells like lust and desperation in here", Aaliyah says sniffing the air.

Hope and Jade laugh as they take in the scene. As they look around, they see a few familiar faces. Rampage is there with his girlfriend, the over excited blonde. Dominik's and Rampage's trainers are talking over drinks. Their eyes finally land on Dominik and his friends laughing at the bar.

As they approach the group Dominik stands with a huge smile on his face.

"You guys made it!", he exclaims offering them drinks.

Hope and Jade excitedly take a drink while Aaliyah calmly takes one. Dominik laughs at them and introduces his friends.

"This is Katrina but we call her Kat,″ he says pointing to the pretty brunette.

Kat smiles and waves.

"And this is Lucas,″ he says pointing to the tall blonde.

"Who are your friends?" Lucas questions with a smirk, winking at Hope.

Before Aaliyah can respond Hope steps forward, "I'm Hope," she says eyeing Lucas.

Jade laughs at Hope, "And I'm Jade," she says with a wave.

"And she's 'the cute doctor' that Dom won't shut up about," Kat says nodding her head in Aaliyah's direction.

"Kat!" Dom exclaims as he glares at his friend.

"You didn't have to say all that," he mumbled under his breath.

After the introductions Hope waste no time to spark a conversation with Lucas, moving to another table. Kat starts setting up shot glasses as she challenges Jade to a drinking contest. Jade excitedly agrees, sitting in front of Kat. Now, Dominik and Aaliyah were left alone with one another.

"So did you enjoy the fight?", Dominik asks taking a sip of his drink.

Aaliyah shrugs,"It was okay".

Dominik's eyes go wide and his mouth was agape.

"What do you mean it was 'okay'?" he questions, using air quotes with the word 'okay'.

Aaliyah just laughs, "I mean I wasn't as interested as Jade."

Dominik smirks, "So Jade's the one I should be talking to?" He asks.

Aaliyah chuckles, "You can but I'll warn you Jade prefers drinks over men."

Dominik laughs, "Well that's something she and Kat have in common."

Aaliyah joins in on the laughter. They both turn to look at Kat and Jade. Both women seem to be enjoying themselves, laughing and taking shots.

When Aaliyah turns back to face Dominik, for a moment her eyes meet his hazel eyes. 

'Calm down,' she thinks. 'He's just flirting a little, you can handle it.' 

Breaking eye contact, Aaliyah downs the rest of her drink. Dominik observers her amused.

"I didn't think you were coming," he says taking a sip of his drink.

Aaliyah crosses her arms. "And why is that?"

"Because you don't strike me as a person who enjoys going out," Dominik explains.

"My friends convinced me to give you a chance, but you're right I don't particularly enjoy going out," she says.

Dominik orders them a round of drinks.

"Do you regret giving me a chance?" he questions.

Aaliyah smiles, "It's been great so far, but let's see where the night takes us."

Aaliyah couldn't remember the last time she felt like this. It was a feeling she couldn't describe, a combination of happiness, liveliness, and excitement. She hasn't felt like this since Caleb. In the small amount of time she had spent with Dominik, she laughed and smiled more than she had in months. She wished the night would last forever, that she wouldn't have to give up this feeling. But, she knew that all good things must come to an end.

Suddenly Aaliyah feels a tap on her shoulder.

"I think we should get going," she hears Hope say.

Aaliyah looks up and asks, "Why?" 

Hope points at Jade, "That's why." 

Aaliyah turns to see Jade standing on top of the bar dancing and taking shot after shot.

Aaliyah sighs. "I swear we can't take her anywhere," she mumbled under her breath.

Quickly the three of them rushed over to save Jade from any further embarrassment.

"Hey guys! Get up here! It's so much fun!" Jade continues to dance erratically to the music in the background.

Dominik chuckles, then reaches up to pull her down.

"No no." Jade slaps his hands away.

After a few more tries he successfully pulls her down from the bar. Kat is passed out at the bar with a drink in her hand.

"Wow I guess Jade won," Lucas says as he picks up Kat.

"Why am I not surprised?" Hope laughs.

"Wow, no one's ever beaten Kat," Dominik states incredulously.

"We should get going," Hope says, once more.

As Aaliyah turns to walk away, Dominik grabs her hand.

"Can I get your number before you go," he says.

With little thought, Aaliyah reaches in her pocket and pulls out her phone then hands it Dominik. He does the same.

" I had fun tonight," Aaliyah says with a smile as she takes her phone back.

"I hope you call me soon," Dominik says with a wink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Dominik gets up and starts his daily routine. After eating a bowl of cereal he puts on shorts and t-shirt and heads out the door. Dominik jogs the same route every day, like his uncle advised him too. He goes down Soto Street then take a right onto Beverly Drive. Even though it's early, the streets are filled with cars and the sidewalks are filled with people. Dominik sees a group of teenage girls talking and laughing as they walk to school. He sees a disheveled man in a suit talking on the yelling into a phone.

"I don't care if he wants pineapple give him peach!", the disheveled man yelled as he speeds past Dominik.

'What is he even talking about', Dominik thinks chuckling to himself. After jogging for another 15 minutes he heads home. As he jogs back, he sees the hospital. He smiles as he thinks about last night. He had fun drinking and talking with Aaliyah. Maybe he should ask her on a real date later.

It's around 8:45 when Dominik gets home so he decides to take a nap after his shower to recover from last night. After about an hour nap his phone rings. He groggily answers the phone. Before he can say anything, the person on the other line starts talking.

"Hey Dom! Kat and I wanted to know if we could come over for a while to chill?', Lucas voice rings from the other side of the phone.

"Uh, yeah sure," Dominik replies while getting out of bed, rubbing his eyes.

"Great! We're already outside," Lucas says before hanging up the phone.

Dominik sighs as he pulls on a t-shirt and some sweatpants. When he opens the door Lucas and Kat have huge smiles on their faces and bags of food in their hands. Dominik steps aside so they can get in.

"We bought breakfast!", Kat exclaims in a sing-song voice.

"How are you this energetic after last night?", Dominik asks while closing the door and locking it.

Kat just shrugs her shoulders as she starts taking food and drinks out the bags.

"Speaking of last night, Hope gave me her number," Lucas says a smirk on his face.

Dominik high fives Lucas and says,"Aaliyah gave me her number too."

Kat sighs as she says," Can't relate."

After they each grab their food, they squeeze into the living room. Dominik cuts on the TV so they can have some background noise.

"Can someone get me the number of the girl that beat me in a drinking contest last night?", Kat questions.

Lucas and Dominik laugh.

"I'm serious! She is definitely my new best friend!," Kat exclaims as she laughs with them.

"Are you going to the gym today?," Lucas asks Dominik.

Dominik just shakes his head and says,"I have to go to the studio today."

After an hour passes Lucas and Kat leave. Dominik cleans up the mess and gets ready for his side job.

Dominik arrives to the studio with 15 minutes to spare. He has on a dark gray tank top, some white basketball shorts and a light blue headband. Since the studio is empty Dominik sets up for his class. Being a yoga instructor isn't his ideal job, but it pays the bills. It's also relaxing and a good way for him to relieve any stress or tension in his life. Ten minutes later his class shows up.

"Hi guys, my name is Dominik and welcome to beginners yoga," Dominik says with a smile on his face.

The class is filled with about 12 people in his class, eight women and four men. After everyone stretches Dominik shows them their first pose, the tree.

"Okay guys put your feet together and place your right foot on your inner left upper thigh. Then press your hands in prayer and find a spot in front of you so that you can hold in a steady gaze. Hold and breathe for 8-10 breaths then switch sides. Make sure you don't lean in to the standing leg and keep your abdominals engaged and shoulders relaxed," Dominik instructs, showing them how to do the pose.

As everyone attempts to do the pose Dominik walks around helping anyone that needs it. After an hour and a half and a few more poses class is finally over.

"Great job today guys! I hope to see all of you again on Tuesday," Dominik says as his class leaves.

He checks the time on watch and swings by the gym.

"Dom, you made it!", Dominik hears as he walks into the gym.

"Tio Javier, how are you?" Dominik asks giving his uncle a hug.

"I'm better now that my star pupil showed up," he replies with a laugh.

"Oh I meant to tell you Sunday dinner got canceled today because your sister has an important guest coming to the restaurant." Dominik rolls his eyes.

"I was excited to taste some of abuelita's famous chimichurri."

Javier laughs as he says,"You know you can always swing by and pick up a plate."

Dominik only staywzaq at the gym for 15 minutes before heading home.

When he gets home, he calls Aaliyah. The phone rings three times before she answers.

"Hey," she breathes. Dominik smiles as he sits down on his bed.

"Hey beautiful," he says. Aaliyah sighs on the other end. "Is there any reason you called?"

Dominik could hear the amusement in her tone.

"Yeah, there is. Do you want to go on a real date with me next Saturday?" He questions.

"I don't know-" There's a long pause before Dominik hears someone else's voice.

"The answer is yes, she definitely wants to go," Jade says.

"That's great, it'll be about four or five in the afternoon when I'm free."

Dominik can hear Aaliyah's voice in the background scolding Jade.

"Good good. She'll see you then. Bye."

Jade hangs up the phone before Dominik has any time to reply. He lies on his back, thinking of where he should take Aaliyah on their date.


	4. Chapter 4

*Jade text Hope*

Jade:

Hope guess what!?

Hope:

Did you finally find those twenty dollars I lent you?

Jade:

...no, it's better than that

Hope:

What is it?

Jade:

Leah and Dominik are going on a date!

Hope:

Really?! That's amazing!. Where are they going?!

Jade:

Idk. All I know is, it's happening at 7:00 tomorrow and our girl has nothing to wear.

Hope:

We have to go shopping!

Jade:

Yea and I know the perfect place, but how are we going to get Leah to agree?

Hope:

Simple, I'll be over in about an hour and a half just be ready when I get there

Aaliyah spent most of her days off behind a computer screen or with her nose in a book. She almost always found ways to expand her knowledge on medicine. After all, it was her passion. "There is no such thing as knowing too much, but knowing too little could get someone killed." It's her attending favorite saying. Her attending, Michael Kelsoe was the most exceptional and handsome physician at Angelstone. The doctors wanted him to mentor them, the nurses wanted to date him, and the other attendings want to be him.

Aaliyah sits on her couch watching TV. Part of her conscience criticizes her for indulging in laziness. 'You're better than this. You could be doing something way more productive ,' she thought. The other part suggested she was simply taking a well earned break from her hectic lifestyle. "It's not like you won't have next week to study. You work ten times harder than most people you know, take a break before you kill yourself sis.' Either way, there was no stopping her from watching her favorite TV show, Prison Love.

Prison Love details the lives of ten imprisoned individuals as they search for love. Her favorite person, at the moment, is Nico Simons. He's a well built 27 year old Asian America man who faces twenty years in prison for trying to kill his stepfather. Aaliyah finds his specific case very intriguing, thinking of all the things that could've sent him flying off the edge.

Nico grew up in a privileged neighborhood, studied computer science at Yale, and worked a decent job in the years leading up to his arrest. None of that mattered anymore. The man threw his entire life away after stabbing his stepfather five times. His defense? His step father constantly beat his mother and his younger siblings, and even after going to the police several times nothing happened. After ten years of terror, he blanked out and decided to take matters into his own hands.

Currently, Nico was preparing for his date with a guy named Jewels. Jewels had been dealing drugs on the street ever since he was thirteen. He was the perfect combination of sweet and handsome. Aaliyah prayed him and Nico would become official soon. They complimented each other extremely well.

Just as their date begins, someone knocks at the door. Aaliyah pauses the TV "this better be important," she grumbles aloud. Once she opens the door, she's met with the sight of an impatient Hope. Hope stands with a had on her hip while tapping her foot with a pair of black sandals in her hand.

"Jesus, why do you people always take so long to answer the door?" Aaliyah moves to the side, letting her inside. "Because you always come before we expect you to," she replies. Hope wastes no time to make herself comfortable on the couch

"That's no excuse, you should always be prepared." Out of curiosity, Hope decides to unpause the TV. After hearing a few details of Jewels and Nico's date she busts out laughing.

"Girl, what is this?" she asks inbetween her laughter. Feeling annoyed, Aaliyah snatches the remote out of Hope's hand.

"Why are you here anyway?" she questions.

"WE'RE GOING SHOPPING!!," Jade exclaims as she walks into the living room waving her wallet in the air. Aaliyah rolls her eyes as she sits on the couch.

"You guys have fun," Aaliyah says rewinding the TV to the scene that she missed. Hope snatches the remote out of her hand and turns the TV off. Then Jade throws a jacket and some shoes at Aaliyah.

"You're coming too. You can't go on your date wearing those bland clothes in your closet." Aaliyah rolls her eyes but she puts on the jacket and shoes. Jade is right. Aaliyah doesn't have anything that is nice enough to wear on a date. Half of her closet is filled with scrubs while the other half has jeans and t-shirts.

When they get to the store they head straight to the dress section. Hope and Jade just start grabbing a few that they think are cute. When they're done they hand them to Aaliyah and push her into the dressing room. After about 15 minutes they settle on a short, flowy, navy blue sundress.

As they approach the cash register a woman calls out, "Jade is that you?" Hearing her name, Jade tries to hide in a rack of clothes nearby, but she's too late. The woman who called her has a tag on her shirt that says "manager".

"I thought you were sick!," the woman exclaims with an incredulous look on her face. Jade fakes a cough and a sneeze.

"I am. My friend just had a fashion emergency," she says. The manager sighs while walking towards her.

"I really didn't want to have to do this, you had a lot of potential. I'm sorry Jade, but you're fired." Jade pauses and thinks of what she should say next. Should she get on her knees and beg for the manager to give her another chance? Or should she just take this confrontation as a sign and try to find another job?

"Okay," she breathes.

"Do I still get the employee discount?" Aaliyah and Hope bust out in laughter. The manager rolls her eyes, shaking her head as she walks away. After paying for the dress they head home.

When Aaliyah arrives home the next day she notices Jade recording herself on her phone.

"Hey YouTube and welcome to my channel. It's your girl Jade here back with another vlog video. So today my friend has a date with a handsome MMA fighter. Oh, she just walked in," Jade says as she turns her camera to show Aaliyah. Aaliyah ignores Jade and starts putting away her groceries. Jade cuts her phone off so she can help Aaliyah with the groceries.

"So what time is Dom coming to get you?" Jade asks when they finish.

"He said he'll be here around 6:40, so I'll probably start getting ready around 5:40."

Aaliyah hops into the shower at around 4:45. The warm water trickles down her brown skin as she ponders what the exciting week she's had. Once she's finished she puts her braids into a bun. Then, she changes into the navy blue dress and puts on the matching earrings that Jade gave her. Lastly she slips on the sandals Hope gave her and completes her look with some light makeup. When Aaliyah makes her way to the living room, she's greeted with compliments and approving looks from Hope and Jade.

Suddenly the doorbell rings. Before Aaliyah answers, Jade squirts perfume on her. She swats her hands in the air in response, nearly slapping her friend, then makes her way to the door. When Aaliyah opens the door she sees Dominik. He wears a plain white shirt with a jean jacket over it, black pants, and white vans. For a moment or two she finds herself staring at her handsome date, admiring how amazing he looks.

" Hey, you look great," he greets her, knocking her out of her trance.

"You look great too," she replies, breathlessly feeling a bit flustered. Aaliyah hadn't been on a date since, well he couldn't remember the last time she had been on one. She either didn't have the time or the interest to set one up. Jade and Hope's giggle and whisper behind her. Aaliyah sighs as she closes the door behind her. Dominik leads Aaliyah out to his black Toyota Camry. He walks over to the passengers side to open the door for her.

"Thank you," she says. Dominik smiles brightly.

"No problem."

For the most part, their ride is silent. The only noise to be heard is the low hum of the car's engine and the quiet music that plays in the background.

"So, where are you taking me?" Aaliyah asks, interrupting the silence. She couldn't help it, curiosity got the best of her. Dominik glances over to her.

"To the best restaurant in town," he replies.

Aaliyah nods, "and what restaurant would that be?"

Dominik smiles once again. "You'll see when we get there."

After about 20 minutes they get to their destination.

"Comida autentica?" Aaliyah questions as they get out of the car.

Dominik laughs,"They have good food trust me. I know the family that owns this place."

For as long as Aaliyah lived in Weston, you would think she knew of nearly every good restaurant in the city, but she had never heard of this one. Though she does feel a bit skeptical, she continues to follow Dominik inside. Aaliyah notes the full tables, delicious aroma, and bustling atmosphere. Families, friends, businessmen, and middle aged women surround her, all enjoying their meals.

"Ah, if it isn't my favorite customer," a voice announces as the couple enters.

A woman appears before them with bright eyes and a wide smile. Aaliyah slightly squints her eyes as she takes in the resemblance between Dominik and the woman who greets them. 'They could be twins', she thinks to herself.

"I wasn't expecting you today," the woman says. Then, her eyes land on Aaliyah.

"Especially not with a guest."

Dominik chuckles," Well I wanted her to taste some authentic food." The woman leads them to a table and gives Aaliyah a menu.

"Do you want the usual Dom?," she asks taking out a little notepad.

"Of course," he replies.

Once the woman walks away Aaliyah turns to Dominik. "What is your usual?" she question.

"It's two choripáns with a side of fries and some yerba mate as a drink," he answers.

"Is it good?" Aaliyah asks suspicious.

Dominik laughs and says ,"Yeah I think it's good." When the woman comes back Aaliyah tells her what she wants and the woman leaves to tell the chef.

While they're waiting on there order Aaliyah starts up a conversation. "So how do you know the family that owns this place?"

"Well the woman that took our order is Sophia and shes my older sister. She owns this place with her husband, Raphael," Dominik replies.

"I knew you two resembled each other," Aaliyah says with a small laugh.

Before they continue their conversation a young boy and an older man walk over. The young boy is carrying their drinks and the man is carrying their food.

"Tio Dom!", the young boy exclaims as he sits the drinks down carefully and then give Dominik a hug.

"Buenas tardes Miguelito," Dominik says, hugging him back.

The older man laughs as he sits there food on the table. "It's good to see you Dom, it's been a while. And who is you little lady friend? "

"It's good to see you too Raphael and this is Aaliyah," Dominik replies with a smile.

Aaliyah shakes hands with the Raphael. Then Miguel says,"Ella es realmente linda!" pointing at Aaliyah.

"Deja de señalar," Raphael says to Miguel in a scolding tone. "I'm sorry about him," he says to Aaliyah before ushering Miguel away.

After they leave Dominik and Aaliyah start to eat their food. Dominik watches as Aaliyah takes the first bite of her food.

"So what do you think?" he asks with one eyebrow raised.

"It's sooo good!," Aaliyah exclaims with a mouth full of food. She takes a sip in the tea and smiles brightly. "This is good too!" Dominik just laugh as he starts eating his food. As they eat Aaliyah questions Dominik on his culture. He laughs but answer all her questions. He has a chance to slip in a few of his own questions too. They really got to know one another as they converse. After about 30 minutes Sophia comes back.

"I hope you guys enjoyed your meal. Would you like anything for dessert?" she says

"The food was fantastic as always and for desert we'll have two slices of chocotorta," Dominik answers with a smile.

It only takes Sophia ten minutes to come back with their dessert and she has a young girl with her.

"Tio Dom!" the young girl exclaims as she sits the plate down and gives Dominik a big hug.

Dominik laughs he hugs her back. "Hola Serena!"

"Okay, that's enough Serena. Let's leave so your uncle can enjoy his date," Sophia says grabbing Serena's hand and walking away.

After finishing their desert Dominik pays the bill. Even though Aaliyah insisted on paying for half of it. Dominik wouldn't let her claiming that since he asked her out then he should pay for it.

The car ride home is filled with laughter as they exchange funny stories. Dominik talks about all the funny moments he shared with Lucas in highschool and college and he told the story of when he and Lucas found out that Kat was a lesbian. Aaliyah talks about all the crazy things Jade did in college and how Hope swears every man is in love with her. When they finally get to Aaliyah's apartment building Dominik walks her to her apartment door.

"I actually had fun tonight," Aaliyah says with a smile as they approach her apartment door.

"Maybe we can go on a second date?" Dominik questions in a hopeful tone.

"Maybe," Aaliyah says as she unlocks the door and goes inside.


	5. Chapter 5

Aaliyah sits on the couch enjoying a relaxing day off. She decides to watch one of her favorite movies, Courtroom Affairs. It's a movie about an ADA named Shane Pitt who falls in love with a detective named Kathy Hemmingway. It's a complicated story that details two murders, heartbreak, and betrayal. Just as Shane is about to confess his feelings for Kathy Aaliyah hears Jade coming around the corner while "vlogging".

Shortly after being fired from her third job in two months, Jade decided she no longer wanted to work for anyone. She would try working for herself instead, and this time she would be doing something she loved. For a while she had no idea what to do. She wondered Then, while watching a video on YouTube, she had an epiphany. She could share her life with the world and eventually make money off of it. Of course, the idea seemed easier to accomplish in her head.

"...so anyway that's how I lost my job at the retail store. I was just trying to help my friend get a cute dress for her date. Speaking of my friend here she is! Say 'hey' Leah," Jade says turning the camera towards Aaliyah.

Aaliyah doesn't look away from the TV as she waves in Jade's direction. Jade laughs as she continues vlogging.

"Ignore her. She's just watching her favorite scene from her favorite movie. She can literally quote every line." Just as Jade says that she turns her camera to Aaliyah again.

With a smile, Aaliyah mouth exactly what the character in the movie is saying.

"Anyway now I have to find another job. I have an interview tomorrow. Let me show you guys what I'm going to wear," Jade says while going back around the corner.

"By the way Leah," she says poking her head around the corner.

"Your parents called and said that they want to meet up for dinner tonight. Your sisters coming too. Be at Lotus Vineyard by 7:30."

Immediately, Aaliyah sits up. She couldn't recall the last time her parents openly invited her to dinner. She hasn't seen her sister since she started her second year in college. Her sister number one excuse being, 'college keeps me busy'. And she hasn't seen her parents since last month. They're usually too busy to meet up with her dad being a biochemist and her mom being a dentist. It would be nice to have a family dinner and catch up.

Aaliyah wonders what the special occasion is. Why would they arrange a get together so suddenly? It wasn't like her parents to plan anything last minute. She hopes it isn't something too trivial. what had they done to get Tiana to agree to dinner. The three of them hadn't exactly been on good terms for the past couple of years. Perhaps their current relationship had something to do with Tiana going against her parents wishes to attend an Ivy League school and settle for California's institute of art. Though it was still a prestigious school, it wasn't prestigious in the sense that their parents thought it should be.

After watching a few more movies Aaliyah decides to take a start getting ready for dinner. She takes a much needed hot shower. Then she throws on the red dress she purchased for formal meetings at work. The place where her parents wanted to have dinner was pretty fancy. Too fancy for Aaliyah to afford on her own. She decides to put the top half of her hair into a bun and leaves the rest down.

When she finishes getting ready, Aaliyah makes her way into the living room. There, Jade lays with her arms and legs spread out on the couch. Aaliyah eyes the large bowl of popcorn, pack of cookies, and pizza box on the coffee table.

"Don't eat yourself to death while I'm gone," she warns.

Jade groans, "I will."

When Aaliyah arrives at the restaurant, she quickly spots her parents sitting at a table in the back by a window. They had always only taken seats by the window as far back into the restaurant they could get. Aaliyah never really knew why.

"Hey mom and dad," she speaks.

Her parents look up. Their faces bright with happiness and joy. Instantly her mother rises up to hug her as tight as she can. Her father does the same.

"We missed you so much," her mother says as Aaliyah takes a seat across from them.

She notices her sister isn't present.

"I missed you guys too. Where's Tiana?"

The smiles on their faces disappear.

"She left," her father says.

"What do you mean she left?"

Aaliyah narrows her eyes on him. He crosses his arms, with an 'I don't care' expression on his face, then sighs.

"You know Tiana, always running away," her father says.

Aaliyah turns to her mother. She never had much to say about Tiana, it was mostly their father who had shown the most disapproval with her actions. She barely made an effort at defending her daughter.

"I can't believe this. It's a miracle she even came."

Aaliyah can't help her slight rise in volume.

"Calm down sweetheart. I'm sure she just used the bathroom."

Her mother reaches over the table to hold Aaliyah's hands. Aaliyah pulls away.

"What could you have possibly said?"

Her father opens his mouth to speak, but before he can another voice interrupts.

"You know, the usual smart snarky comment, I defend myself. Then my career choice comes into question and I have to excuse myself."

Aaliyah looks up to see Tiana. She had her afro out, wearing makeup and a skin tight white dress, and she has a nose ring with an eyebrow piercing. She seems to have changed into a totally different person since the last time Aaliyah saw her.

"Hey Leah," Tiana greets and leans in to hug her. "Hey Tiana," Aaliyah replies. Then, her sister sits down next to her.

"So, how's everything been?" Tiana asks.

Everyone's eyes snap her way.

"It's been great. What about you?"

Tiana leans back and looks up towards the ceiling.

"I've been better, really. College is hard," she says.

"Now, imagine how hard it would be if you went to a real college," her father scoffs.

Tiana rolls her eyes. " I am going to a real college. Only the best of the best make it in, dad."

Her father says nothing, instead he looks out the window.

"Where's the server? Don't we need to order?" Aaliyah questions.

"Oh don't worry about that, we ordered for you," her mother says.

Aaliyah doesn't protest. It's something They regularly did if she wasn't there to order herself. The worst part about it is that they always seemed to order exactly what Aaliyah wanted. The same went for Tiana, even if she would never admit it.

"How's work?" Aaliyah asks them.

Her mother answers, "Work is fine. About fifteen more years and we can retire," she laughs.

Her mother's eyes are a light hazel with the slightest touch of green. She was a beautiful hard working woman who came from an upper class mixed family. Nearly her entire life she was pushed to become a doctor. Aaliyah's father, however, was the opposite. He had endured many hardships growing up. He didn't have a well off family. Many years after leaving their families behind, somehow, they both managed to end up in the same city and almost instantaneously fall in love.

"Seriously, how's your residency? I know how stressful it can get," her mother says.

"It has its stressful moments but overall everything is good."

Her father continues to stare out the window.

"Here you go,"A voice announces.

The blond haired brown eyed waitress named Bethany hands everyone their food.

"Anything else?" she asks.

"No thank you dear," her father answers.

"Call me over if you need anything," she walks away.

They ordered Aaliyah's favorite, spaghetti. Needless to say, she was pleased.

"Should we pray?" Tiana asks.

Confusion spreads over Aaliyah's face.

"Since when have we ever prayed?" She asks.

Their family isn't the most religious. In the past, there were times when they would attend church with Aaliyah and Tiana's grandmother. And the only times when they did pray were when their entire family would get together.

"Hey, we should at least be a little more thankful. God is watching." Tiana points her index finger up.

"Right. That's all he does. Watches."

Tiana ignores Aaliah's comment and decides to silently pray for herself. Across the table their parents hold their own conversation. It was something along the lines of paying off their mortgage and going on a vacation.

"A little birdie told me you're seeing someone," Tiana speaks, lowly.

Aaliyah's eyes widen. She glances over at her mother and father to be sure they hadn't heard her. She wasn't in the mood to explain to them who Dominik was. Of course, they would probably disapprove, but it isn't like they're actually dating or anything. They barely know each other.

"Don't listen to Jade, I'm not seeing anyone."

Surprisingly, Jade and Tiana were great friends. They had clashing personalities at times, but they also had a lot in common. If anything exciting happened in Aaliyah's life, Jade made sure to tell Tiana as quick as she could. This also had to do with the fact that Jade could literally keep nothing to herself.

"What's his name? Darrell? David? Damien?"

"Dominik," Aaliyah mindlessly informs her.

A cheshire cat like smile grows on Tiana's face.

"Who's Dominik?" Her father interjects.

Aaliyah's parents eyes light up with curiosity. She lets out a deep sigh.

"He's just a friend from work," she lies.

Her situation was too difficult to explain. They'd ask too many questions that she wouldn't be able to answer.

"Quit lying," Tiana says.

At first she's shocked, but then Aaliyah remembers all of the times she sold out her sister when they were younger. She was the troublemaker. Compared to the various amounts of Tiana's secrets she'd told them, this didn't seem like much.

"I'm not lying. He's a friend from work."

"Okay, what kind of friend is he?" Tiana asks.

"I'm sure we have more important things to talk about. Like, why did you guys decide to plan this dinner last minute?" Aaliyah asks, desperate to change the topic of the conversation.

Her mother smiles and reaches out to hold her father's hand.

"Well, I was hoping we would wait to tell you and your sister the good news after we finished eating. But I guess it can't wait," Her smile grows wider.

"I'm finally opening up my own clinic" she says excitedly.

Not too long ago, Aaliyah's mom had made up her mind. She wanted to be her own boss. To do so she would open up her own clinic. She began by purchasing and renovating a building. Then she got her license and paperwork done and now what once was a dream has become reality.

"That's great mom, but why did you wait so late to tell us?" Aaliyah asks.

"Because, I wanted to make sure everything was in order. I didn't want to get anybody's hopes up just in case something happened."

Aaliyah nods her head understandingly. The rest of their dinner they continue to talk about the clinic. The sisters seemed curious of how it would operate and what role their mother would play.

"I guess you'll just tell me who this Dominik is later then," Tiana whispers to Aaliyah as everyone stands up to leave.

"Sure. As soon as you tell me who you've been seeing."

"What?"

"It's pretty obvious. You were checking your phone every five minutes. Also, there's a few hickes on the back of your neck."

Tiana touches her neck before chuckling.

"You're such a bitch," she says.

"Right back at you."

When Aaliyah gets home she sees Jade lying down in the same spot she left her. Instead of stuffing her face with food, now she lays there with her mouth open and her eyes closed. Aaliyah decides to grab a blanket out of the closet and places it on her. She then cleans up the mess Jade left behind and proceeds to her room.There, her bed welcomes her with open arms.

Something begins to bother her as she falls asleep. She can't help but think about Dominik. How was his day? What was he doing? She almost picks up her phone to call him, but her self conscience pulls her back. 'It's too soon,' it says. It is too soon. Aaliyah sighs and turns to her side. What would tomorrow bring?


	6. Chapter 6

It was the day before Christmas and it was peaceful in the apartment. Aaliyah invited Jade to spend Christmas with her family since Jade's parents are in Alaska and they were just chilling until they had to leave later. Jade was stressing because she didn't have enough gifts.

"LEAH!! WE HAVE TO GO TO THE STORE NOW!!" Jade shouts as she bursts into Aaliyah's room with a panicked look on her face.

Aaliyah pauses the episode of Prison Love she was watching on her laptop.

"Um, why?" Aaliyah questions with an annoyed expression on her face.

"BECAUSE I FORGOT TO GET TIANA AND YOUR MOM A GIFT!!" Jade exclaims as she rushes to put on her shoes and a jacket.

"Why are you yelling?" Aaliyah calls out as she follows Jade.

"BECAUSE THIS IS URGENT!!" Jade responds as she waits impatiently by the door for Aaliyah to put her stuff on.

Aaliyah sighs as she puts on her shoes and jacket. She grabs her keys off the counter and they head out to the store.

When they get to the store Jade heads straight to the "art supplies" area. She grabs a small sketchpad, a 48-pack of colored pencils, and a set of gel pens.

"Do you think she'll like that or should I get her bigger sketpad?" Jade questions putting down the sketchpad to pick up a bigger one.

"I think she'll like a bigger one but let's get the one with the tower on the front," Aaliyah responds picking you the sketchpad and putting it in the cart.

Next they head over to the "kitchen appliances" area. Aaliyah picks up a crockpot and inspects it. She then turns to Jade.

"Which one are you going to get her?" she asks.

"I think I'll get her the red one," Jade replies as she puts her hand on the last red crockpot.

Just as she's about to take it off the shelf another hand lands on the crockpot. Jade turns around and see that the hand belongs to a woman a few years older than her.

"Excuse me. Can you please move your hand?" Jade asks the woman nicely with a fake smile on her face.

Instead of moving her hand the woman tried to snatch the crockpot out of Jade's hands. Jade retaliates by pulling the crockpot back in her direction.

"Excuse me, can you please just let go of the pot ma'am? We were here first," Aaliyah says taking a step towards Jade and the woman.

"Why don't you mind your own business!" the woman snaps back at Aaliyah, yanking on the crockpot again.

Aaliyah's face goes from shocked to angry. She decides to help Jade pull the crockpot away from the woman. After three minutes of fighting the woman lets go of the pot, causing Aaliyah and Jade to fall on the ground. Jade hops up triumphantly.

"Aha! I won fair and square!" she exclaims waving the crockpot in the air.

Aaliyah gets up rolling her eyes at Jade. The young woman huffed as she walks away.

"I can't believe that woman was really trying to take the crockpot from us," Aaliyah comments as her and Jade go towards the cash register. After paying for everything they head home.

When they get back to the apartment Jade quickly wraps the gifts. After putting everything in the car they drive off to Aaliyah's parents house.

Ding Dong. Ding Dong. The doorbell rings as Aaliyah and Jade wait for someone to answer the door.

"Aaliyah! Jade! Welcome!" Aaliyah's mom greets them as she opens the door.

Aaliyah and Jade each give her a hug before walking into the house. As they enter the house they're hit with an aroma of food.

"It smells good in here Mrs.Johnson," Jade compliments as Aaliyah's mom.

"Thank you Jade. I'm almost done cooking. You guys can wait in the living room with Reggie and Tiana," Mrs.Johnson say before heading back into the kitchen.

When they get into the living room Jade and Aaliyah sees Mr.Johnson and Tiana on the couch watching football. Even though Tiana and Mr.Johnson had many different views on certain topics, they always agree on football.

"All he has to do is catch the damn ball!" Mr.Johnson shouts throwing his hat on the floor.

"They should've passed it to Gailes so he could run down the left side of the field!" Tiana shouts. Mr.Johnson nods his head in agreement.

"Oh god, they're watching football," Aaliyah sighs making Jade chuckle.

"Hey guys," Jade says, causing both of them to look in her and Aaliyah's direction.

"Aaliyah and Jade! I didn't realize you guys were here!" Tiana exclaims getting up to give them hugs.

Mr.Johnson follows behind her with a smile on his face.

"I'm glad you guys made it here safely and I'm glad you're here to join us Jade," he says giving them hugs.

After the greetings Aaliyah and Jade go upstairs and get settled. When they come back down they decide to watch the football game with Aaliyah's dad and her sister. Every time someone made a mistake Mr.Johnson and Tiana would yell. Aaliyah would just facepalm as Jade laughs at them. Mrs.Johnson comes around the corner right after the game is over.

"Dinner should be ready in an hour and a half," she says wiping her hand on her apron.

"I think this is the perfect time to play Christmas games!" Mrs.Johnson says in a singsong voice.

Tiana and Jade jump with excitement while Aaliyah and Mr.Johnson sigh. They decide to play Christmas movie trivia. "Team Unicorn" consist of Tiana and Jade. "Team Johnson" consist of Aaliyah and Mr.Johnson. Mrs.Johnson is in charge of reading the questions and rewarding points. After playing for an hour they get to the last question and the score is tied.

"Okay, this one if for the win." Mrs.Johnson says.

"This movie is about a boy who was accidentally transported to the North Pole as a toddler and raised to adulthood among Santa's elves. Unable to shake the feeling that he doesn't fit in, the adult he travels to New York, in full elf uniform, in search of his real father," she reads from the card.

After thinking for a while then Tiana springs up, "It's Elf! The movie with Will Ferrel!" she exclaims.

"That's correct!" Mrs.Johnson exclaims.

Jade and Tiana start doing a celebration dance, while Aaliyah and Mr.Johnson roll their eyes at them. After cleaning up the game they sit around thinking of things to do.

"Oh I know! I can sing Christmas songs!" Jade says excitedly going to the piano.

Before sitting down to play Jade give s Aaliyah her phone.

"Can you record this for the blog?" she asks.

Aaliyah rolls her eyes but turns on the camera. Jade starts to play "Little Drummer Boy". The family listens with smiles on their faces as Jade starts to sing.

"Come thy told me

Pa rum pum pum-pum

A newborn king to see

Pa rum pum pum-pum

Or finest gifts we bring

Pa rum pum pum-pum

To lay before the king

Rum pum pum-pum

Rum pum pum-pum"

When she finishes the songs the family claps.

"Thank you," Jade says taking a bow. Until the food is finishes Jade take song requests.

Once the food is finished everyone sits down to eat. While everyone eats they enjoy conversation amongst each other. They talk about all the fun memories they share and what they hope will come in the future.

After eating dessert everyone gathers into the livingroom and they watched Christmas movies throughout the night.

Happy Holidays to all of our readers!!


	7. Chapter 7

"So how is it going with Aaliyah?" Lucas asks as he dodges Dominik's punch.

"I'm thinking about asking her on another date." Dominik replies throwing another punch.

Once every week Dominik and Lucas train together. They both have different training routines so they alternate each week. This week they're using Lucas training routine. His is a bit tougher than Dominik's but not too much for Dominik to handle.

"Where are you guys going this time?" Lucas questions putting Dominik in a headlock.

"I was....thinking...about taking...her to the....amusement park." Dominik replies struggling to get out of the headlock.

Lucas laughs before letting him go so they can take a break. They both go sit on a nearby bench and grab their water bottles.

"Now what were you trying to say?" Lucas asks.

"I was thinking about taking her to The Great Amusement Park. My uncle Javier gave me some tickets he won in a raffle." Dominik answers.

"Wow, are you going to win her a big stuffed bear?" Lucas jokes.

"I just might." Dominik jokes back.

After a few more hours of training they decide to shower and grab some food. They end up going to a small Mexican joint called El Pollo Loco. When Dominik and Lucas get to the restaurant they both order three steak tacos with cilantro and pico de gallo and horchata as a drink. They go and sit at a table by the window.

"So? Date number two huh?" Lucas says wiggling his eyebrows.

Dominik laughs," I hope there's a date number three."

"Wow you must really like this girl. You haven't been like this since you and 'thou who shall not be named'." Lucas remarks.

"I do really like Aaliyah. Also me and Ella are on good terms now so you don't have to call her that." Dominik replies rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Lucas says raising his hands in mock surrender.

When their food finally arrives they converse about things that have been happening in their lives lately. Lucas has been texting Hope a lot and he's thinking about asking her on an actual date. Dominik has been busy teaching his yoga class and being Kat's wingman. After eating they order some tacos to go for Kat and walked over to her house so they can hangout.

"It's about time you guys showed up" Kat says opening the door.

"At least we brought you some food" Lucas laughs handing Kat the to go tray.

Kat takes the tray happily and sits down to eat. Dominik and Lucas laugh as they sit down. Lucas turns on the TV and starts to flip through the channels. He ends up deciding to watch Prison Love.

"Prison Love?" Kat questions looking up at the TV.

"This show isn't too bad. Sophia watches it all the time." Dominik comments.

"This is the best show ever created! The love that Nico and Jewels are the best couple!" Lucas exclaims.

Lucas then spends the next 15 minutes catching Kat and Dominik up on Prison Love. Apparently a show about love in prison has a lot of drama. Peach is in love with Ted but he is with Narc. But Narc is cheating on Ted with Pete. Big T and Little D are best friends and they have an on again and off again relationship with the twins, PB and Jay.

"This show is a mess" Dominik laughs.

"The mess is what makes this show so entertaining" Lucas explains.

He then gets up to make himself a glass of water. On the way back to the couch Lucas accidentally spills some on the floor. Thinking nothing of it, he chooses not to clean up his mess. Just as he reaches the couch, Kat gets up to put her leftovers away. Moments later Lucas and Dominik hear Kat scream and a large crash. Immediately, they rise to their feet to discover Kat laying on the floor, cursing to herself.

"What happened?" Dominik asks, rushing towards her.

"One of you idiots spilled water and didn't clean it up."

Dominiks eyes shoot towards Lucas, who struggles to contain his laughter.

"I'm so sorry Kat. Can you walk?" Lucas questions, approaching her with his hands out.   
Kat winces, trying to get up.

"No, I can't." she says.

Dominik kneels down before saying, "Let me take a look at it."

He examines her ankle. It's purple and blue. Dominik sighs.

"It looks twisted, but I'm not sure. We should probably go to the hospital."

Kat nods her head, agreeing.

"Yeah, we should." she says.

Dominik pauses as he points at Kat.

"You carry her. I'll start the car."

The car ride to the hospital was stressful. Kat wouldn't stop cursing at Lucas and Dominik. Lucas because he caused her injury. Dominik because he kept telling her to calm down. Eventually Lucas and Kat began bickering back and forth. Lucas attempted to defend his actions, bringing up the time Kat tripped him down a small flight of stairs. Then, they started yelling.

"That's enough.You two need to stop acting like children and shut up!" He made sure his voice was louder than theirs.

The rest of their ride goes by quietly.

Once they arrive at the hospital, Lucas and Dominik quickly hop out of the car. Lucas opens the door and grabs Kat.

She winces again.

"Be careful, idiot." 

Inside the emergency room, Dominik checks Kat in while her and Lucas find a place to sit. The woman at the desk asks them to sign in. After waiting for about 20 minutes they finally get called back.

"I can't believe you left water on my floor dumbass!" Kat exclaims glaring at Lucas.

"I said I was sorry," Lucas says.

Before Kat can yell at him again Hope walks in.

"Katrina Matthews?" she questions looking at the chart.

"Hope!? Is that you?!" Lucas exclaims.

Hope looks up from the clipboard. Her facial expression changes when she sees them.

"Hey guys. Nice to see you," she says.

They all greet her with a "hey".

"How did you hurt your ankle?"

Kat explains what happened while glaring at Lucas.While Hope treats Kat, Dominik asks her about Aaliyah. She explains that Aaliyah's doing rounds and should be done in a few minutes.When Hope's done with the examination they go back to check out at the front desk.

While Lucas and Kat check out Dominik spots Aaliyah and calls out to her. Aaliyah snaps her head in his direction. When she sees him she waves and starts walking over them.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting to see you here," Aaliyah says then she turns to greet Lucas and Kat.

"We're only here because Lucas was being stupid and Kat ended up twisting her ankle.," Dominik relplies.

"Oh that explains the ace bandages and the wheelchair," Aaliyah respondes.

"While I'm here, I was wondering if you wanted to go to The Great Amusement Park with me on Saturday?" Dominik asks.

"I would love to," she says with a smile.

After chatting for a few more minutes Aaliyah had to leave so Lucas, Dominik and Kat leave the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

"HE ASKED YOU ON ANOTHER DATE!" Jade exclaims.

Aaliyah laughs as she covers her ears.

"Why are you yelling?" Aaliyah asks.

It's Saturday morning and Aaliyah had almost completely forgotten to tell Jade that Dominik asked her on another date. It was quite possibly because of the excitement that she felt. Part of her looked forward to their second date and the other part was nervous she would scare him away somehow.

"I'm sorry. Why didn't you tell me?"

Aaliyah sighs after sliding on her shoe.

"I'm sorry, I forgot." she says.

Jade smiles then turns back to her phone.

"Do you hear that guys hear that? This is date number two!?" Jade exclaims to her "followers".

"You're still trying to start a vlog channel?" Aaliyah questions, laughing at Jade.

"It's slowly coming together. I have 100 loyal subscribers," Jade says defensively.

"Well good luck with that. I'll be back later," Aaliyah says walking out the door.

Her parents used to take her and her sister to an amusement park when they were younger. They'd ride as many rides as possible, scream their heads off, then end the day with a nice meal from Dairy Queen.

Before Aaliyah reaches the amusement park she notices tall colorful rides that seem to reach the clouds. She can't help but lean forward to get a better view. Aaliyah isn't afraid of heights, but that didn't stop her heart from beating erratically.

She was more nervous now than ever. Her ex boyfriends weren't the worst. All three of them treated her great. James from highschool used to take her to sporting events as a "date". Taylor from college thought study dates were exciting. Caleb took her on some dates she thought were amazing, but apparently he didn't. He would always complain about how boring their experience was. Did that mean they thought she he thought she was boring?

'Am I a boring person?' Aaliyah asks herself.

'Yes.' Her conscience answered.

She shakes the thought out of her head and focused more on the date. It's a second date. She wants him to ask her on a 3rd date. Aaliyah doesn't get many of those nowadays.

After parking, she gets out of her car and walks over to the gate. The line's pretty long, yet she waits there patiently scrolling through her Instagram feed.

"Aaliyah?" She hears.

She looks up and sees Dominik. Dominik wears ripped jeans, black shoes, and a black shirt. He has a fresh haircut and

"Hey." Aaliyah waves.

"Looks like we got here at the same time."Dominik announces stepping a few feet towards her.

Aaliyah smiles,"Yeah. What a coincidence."

They have to wait 15 minutes until they are able to enter the park. Upon entering they're surrounded by shops and restaurants. Then, after walking deeper into the park, they see the rides.

"I've never been here before." Aaliyah confesses, feeling a bit uneasy.

Dominik chuckles, "That's okay. I'll make sure to show you all the good rides." He says.

Dominik points to what seems like the tallest roller coaster in the park.

"That's the red dragon. It's the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the park. It also happens to be my favorite."

Dominik was thrilled Aaliyah agreed to come and he was even more excited since this is one of his favorite amusement parks.

"Maybe we should start off small." Aaliyah suggests.

Dominik laughs. "Oh, I see. You're scared."

"I'm not scared. I'm just a little nervous," Aaliyah defends herself.

"Okay, I understand. If you want to get a feel of the park, we should ride the tornado." He says

"The what?" Aaliyah questions.

"Don't worry, it's fun. It's a blue ride that spins you around and around. Actually, it's right behind you."

Aaliyah turns around to see what the "tornado" looks like. The ride has a large sign above it painted blue with its name on i. It's certainly not as intimidating as the last one Dominik showed her.

"Yeah. Let's get on it."

From there, they went to several other places and then finally the red dragon. Aaliyah was less nervous than before, and she actually looked forward to the ride. So they rode it, twice, and got some italian ice afterwards.

"I really enjoyed myself today." Aaliyah says while wearing a smile.

"Yeah me too. Next time, we'll ride the rest of them."

"Next time?"

Dominik smirks and continues eating his italian ice.

"I'm sorry. I thought that we were having a good time. Who doesn't enjoy spending time with a man as handsome as me." He replies.

"Handsome?" Aaliyah questions,

"I would say that I'm quite handsome. Wouldn't you agree?" he questions making a "sexy pose".

Aaliyah laughs," I'm pretty sure the word you're looking for is silly."

"Ouch! That hurt! " Dominik exclaims, clutching his chest.

"Maybe you'll think I'm handsome after I win you a big stuffed bear," Dominik says, pointing over to the bottle toss game.

"I doubt that will change my mind," Aaliyah replies.

Dominik ignores her comment and grabs her hand, pulling her along as he speed walks towards the game. The man working it has a friendly welcoming smile on his face.

"You can play two rounds for six dollars." He says.

Dominik hands the man $6 and grabs the balls. Aaliyah crosses her arms, expecting Dominik to miss every bottle. Instead, he surprises her by making the first one. Then the second, the third, and the fourth. Aaliyah stands beside Dominik speechless. Steve, the man running the bottle toss, hands Dominik more balls. He makes all four of them again.

"Here you go." Steve says, handing Aaliyah the bear.

"Thank you." Aaliyah says.

She looks over to and smiles. Then she Dominik and kisses his cheek. For a moment he's shocked, but then he smiles.

"Oh, do you think I'm handsome now?" Dominik asks as he and Aaliyah begin walking towards the exit. 

"Maybe." She laughs.

Before leaving the amusement park they give one another a hug and say goodbye.


	9. Chapter 9

"MY PARENTS ARE COMING FOR A VISIT!" Jade exclaims as she paced in the living area.

Her parents called her earlier saying that they will be visiting tomorrow. Jade hasn't seen her parents in forever. Her parents travel a lot for their job as consultants.

"Calm down. Just sit down and breathe," Aaliyah suggests.

Jade sits down and starts taking deep breaths. Aaliyah goes to the kitchen to get Jade a cup of water. Jade hasn't seen her parents since she graduated from The University of California with a degree in fine arts. She was hoping to get lucky and become a fashion designer but that hasn't happened yet.

"I'm trying to but what if they think I'm a disappointment?" Jade questions sulking on the couch.

"They won't Jade. You know that they will always support you no matter what," Aaliyah replies, sitting next to Jade.

"I know but I can't help but think that they will come to their senses and realize that my life is a joke and that I'll never become a fashion designer," Jade says putting her face in her hands.

"You're not a disappointment Jade and I believe that one day you'll have your own fashion line," Aaliyah says, giving Jade a comforting hug.

"Thanks Leah. I love you"

"I love you too."

"Can we order take out and watch some horror movies?"

"Of course we can."

For the next few hours Jade and Aaliyah binge watched horror movies, ate Thai food, and talked about their feelings. Once they finished their female bonding time they decided to make a plan for tomorrow.

"Maybe I should take them to a museum or an aquarium," Jade says.

"I think you should show them a day in the life of Jade Nakamura."

"You really think they'll enjoy that?"

"I think they're here to see their daughter. They want to see what you enjoy doing. You can even show them your YouTube channel."

"I guess it would be nice to show them my new job at [insert clothing store name]. I may just be selling the clothes now but in the future I'll be making them. I don't know if I'll show them my YouTube channel, they might not support that," Jade laughs.

Jade gives Aaliyah a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm so lucky to have a best friend like you Leah."

Aaliyah just laughs hugging her back.

The next day Jade's parents arrive around 9:00 in the morning. Jade and Aaliyah were already awake and had breakfast prepared for the married couple. They made their favorite, miso shiru, tamago kake gohan, and shokupan toast with jam.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura," Aaliyah says, giving Jade's parents a hug.

Mrs. Nakamura laughs," Honey we've told you many times that you can call us Sunako and Ren."

"I know I know, but I can't help it," Aaliyah responds.

"Jade! How are you watashi no kodomo?" Mr.Nakamura says, engulfing Jade in a hug.

"Otousan, it's nice to see you. You too Okaasan," Jade says, giving her parents hugs.

Once the greetings are over everyone sits down to eat.

"So how was North Carolina?" Jade questions before taking a bite of her food.

"It was amazing. Charlotte is absolutely beautiful." her mom replies.

"In our free time we went to the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and the Discovery Place," her father adds.

"Oh I heard that the discovery place was amazing. My parents went there when they had business in Charlotte last year," Aaliyah comments.

The rest of the conversation is filled by her parents talking about the fun they had in North Carolina and how well the job went. After breakfast Aaliyah had to go to work.

"I wish I could spend the whole day with you guys but unfortunately I have to go to work. Hopefully I'll be back before you guys leave," Aaliyah says before walking out the door.

"So what do you have planned for us to do today?" Mr.Nakamura asks.

"Well I wanted to start by showing you guys where I work," Jade answers.

They all pile into the car and head to Flawless, the store Jade works at. When they get there a woman with short brown hair walks up to them.

"Hey Jade! What are you doing here? I thought you had the day off!" she exclaims, pulling Jade into a hug.

"Hi Kara! I just came to show my parents where I work," Jade replies, hugging the woman back.

Kara looks behind Jade to see her parents standing idly with big smiles on their faces. She walks up to them and gives each a handshake.

"Your daughter is absolutely wonderful. She really is a joy to work with," Kara says.

Kara went on for ten minutes talking about how wonderful and talented Jade is before she had to go back to work. After Kara left, Jade continued to show her parents around the store and tell them about her job.

When Jade finishes telling her parents about her job she takes them to The Science Center, the biggest science museum in California. She knew her parents would love it sense they enjoy interactive activities. At The Science Center they have different hands on exhibits every 3 months. This month the theme is "Out in Space". They have an anti gravity room and a spaceship simulator.

"I want to go inside the anti gravity room first!" Mrs.Nakamura exclaims as soon as they walk into the museum

"I want to go to the biodiversity exhibit," Mr.Nakamura says, reading a pamphlet for the museum.

Jade laughs," Don't worry we'll go see any exhibit you guys want to see."

They end up going to the "Out of Space" exhibit first. When they enter they see a diagram that details the eight planets in the solar system, their moons, and other objects found within the universe.

While examining the exhibit the trio overhears a guide speaking to what seems to be elementary school kids.

"This exhibit is in real time, meaning everything you see happening here is happening out in space too," she says.

The kids stare and nod their heads in awe.

"But how do they know that?" Mrs.Nakamura comments.

"Well, they are scientists," Mr.Nakamura explains.

"No I don't think that girl is a scientist. She's a guide," Mrs.Nakamura replies.

"I think she has to memorize facts to be the guide."

"And how do you know that?"

Mr.Nakamura thinks for a second

"Because Itsuki used to be a tour guide."

"Oh yeah. I forgot he was a tour guide before becoming a bar owner."

Jade giggles to herself.

"Let's go try out the anti gravity room and then the spaceship ," she suggests, pointing to the picture of the pamphlet.

They head over to the anti gravity room. Jade's parents are smiling hard as they are strapped into their suits. Jade decided not to go into the room and record her parents instead. Afterwards Jade and her parents make their way to the spaceship simulator.

Afterwards they visit the marine science, geological, taxonomy, and ecological exhibits and then venture back home. There Jade cooks a traditional Japanese meal with saba shioyaki, nikujaga, sunomono, miso soup, and genmai. Jade's parents sit down to eat, while Jade pours some sake into everyone's drinking glass.

"Wow Jade this tastes delicious," Mrs.Nakamura comments after taking a bite.

"Thank you Okaasan. I pulled the recipes out of Baba's recipe book. How is Baba anyway?"

"She's great we went to visit her before we left Texas."

"That's good. I think I'll give her a call tonight."

"You should. She said that she hasn't heard from you in a while."

"I know. I know. I've been meaning to call her."

"Otousan, you've been quiet. Is everything alright?" Jade questions, glancing up at her father.

Her father looks up from his plate startled by Jade's voice.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Mrs.Nakamura questions.

"I was just wondering why you went to so much trouble to entertain us today," he answers, looking at Jade.

"What do you mean?" Jade asks.

"Well, we came here to see how you were doing and see what you enjoy doing. I was excited when you took us to Flawless because I know that you love fashion and want to be a designer, but then you took us to the museum. The museum was amazing but it didn't strike me as something you enjoy doing," her father responds.

Jade doesn't say anything at first, she just looks down at her plate in deep thought. After a few seconds of staring at her plate she speaks up.

"I was afraid that you guys would think that I was a disappointment. I don't have my dream job yet it's hard for me to keep a steady job. The only thing that I have is a YouTube channel with 5000 subscribers."

"5000 subscribers! That's great honey!" Her mom eclaims.

"We've seen your videos on Facebook and we think they are hilarious!" her dad adds.

Jade looks up surprised," Really! You guys have seen my videos and think they're funny!"

Her parents just laugh.

"We understand that it is taking a while for you to get your dream job. As long as you are happy and healthy we don't care." Mrs.Nakamura says while Mr.Nakamura nods in agreement.

Jade gets up and hugs her parents, "I love you guys."

"We love you too," they say, hugging her back.

The rest of dinner goes by pretty fast. Jade's parents discuss their favorite moments from Jade's YouTube videos. Halfway through dinner Aaliyah comes home and joins the family. After Jade tells her what happens she pulls the Nakamra family into a group hug. Once they are done eating Jade and Aaliyah say their goodbyes to the couple and wish them safe travels.


	10. Chapter 10

William "The Hulk" Tucker

That's the name that keeps running through Dominik's mind. The name belongs to a 6"3 , 230 pound African American man, his next opponent. The Hulk is number one and undefeated in their league. Dominik is right behind him with only one loss.

"Hey Dom, ready to start training?" Lucas says, snapping Dominik out of his trance.

Dominik asked Lucas to help him train for the big fight. This fight was really important because the winner gets to make a name for himself and possibly get signed to a better gym. This is just what Dominik needs to progress in his career.

"Yeah, but can you help me choose a diet plan first?" Dominik asks.

"I see you're taking your next fight seriously," Lucas says with a laugh.

"Can you blame me? This can be my chance to get one step closer to becoming a pro," Dominik replies.

"It's a pretty small step honestly," Lucas jokes.

"I'll do whatever I can to achieve my dreams, no matter how small the step is," Dominik proclaims.

"I'm sorry. I was just joking," Lucas replies, holding up his hands in mock defense.

Dominik just shrugs it off and hands Lucas his phone.

"I was thinking about trying this diet. What do you think?"

"Hmmm..."

"Do you really have to think that hard about a diet plan?"

"Of course I do. Isn't that why you came to me?"

"I guess."

"Maybe I should make you a personal diet," Lucas suggests, handing the phone back to Dominik.

"Sure, but I want to get started as soon as I can. The fight is next month," Dominik replies.

"I can have it done by tomorrow," Lucas claims.

Once they got situated, Dominik and Lucas hop in the ring. After sparring for an hour and a half they take a break.

"You've really gotten better over the years," Lucas compliments Dominik after taking a sip of his water.

"I've been training since I was 15. I have picked up some good training habits over the years," Dominik replies, breathing heavily.

"I believe that working at that yoga studio has something to do with it," Lucas jokes.

Dominik laughs,"To be honest, I have been feeling more relaxed and I'm a bit more flexible."

"Well I'm going to go take a shower and go. I have to work a shift down at the deli," Lucas says while getting up and walking towards the shower.

"I guess I'll go visit Kat before I head home," Dominik replies, getting up and following Lucas.

Before Dominik could knock on the door a disheveled Kat swings it open.

"Oh Dom! I was just going to find you!" she exclaims, dragging him inside the house.

"What's going on? Are you okay?" Dominik asks after Kat pushes him on to the couch and starts pacing in front him.

"My parents want to have dinner with me tonight and I want you to come with me and be my fake boyfriend," Kat says quickly.

"Wait what?" Dominik responds.

"Will you be my fake boyfriend tonight?" she asks.

"You still haven't told your parents yet?" Dominik questions.

"No," Kat confesses with a sigh.

She sits down next to Dominik and he wraps her in a hug as she starts crying.

"I'm so scared to tell them. When they asked me if I was in a relationship yet I couldn't help but lie and tell them that we were dating." she sobs.

"Kat I know it's hard but you need to tell them the truth," Dominik suggests.

"Easier said than done Dom. How do I explain to my parents, who go to church three times a week and believe that homosexuality is a sin, that their 'perfect' and only child is a lesbian?" Kat questions angrily.

"I won't say that I know how you feel because I don't but I do know that continuously lying about your sexuality isn't good. Ignoring a problem isn't going to make it go away," Dom says.

"You're right. I'm a [insert age] year old woman. I already convinced them that wanting to own a bar isn't bad. How hard can it be to convince them that being a lesbian isn't bad either?," Kat mumbles, wiping her eyes.

Dominik chuckles and gives her a tight hug.

"You're the second strongest person I know Kat. First is mi abuelita, that woman isn't afraid of anything."

"Thanks Dom, you really are the best. Dinner starts at 7:30."

"I'll be there and dressed to impress," Dominik says as he gets ready to leave.

Once Dominik leaves Kat stands in front of her closet wondering what she should wear. Nothing too extravagant, but also nothing too casual. In the end she settles for leggings and the cute white blouse her mother gave to her last christmas. She put on some white sandals to complete her outfit.

Originally her parents planned to meet up at a restaurant for dinner, but Kat thought it would be better to break the news somewhere more private. She wanted to have dinner at her home, but her parents insisted it would be better if they hosted it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dominik arrives at Kat's house around ten past seven. He's wearing a collared balck shirt with some dark blue jeans and black vans. When he enters Kat's apartment she's in her room sitting in front of the mirror with frizzy hair.

"Woah, what happened to your hair?" Dominik asks.

"I don't know what to do with it. Every time I style my hair I can't help but think about how my parents won't approve of it," Kat replies with an exasperated sigh.

Dominik takes a brush and says,"Just be yourself Kat. Tonight is about proving to your parents that their opinion doesn't matter. To prove that regardless of what they think you will always be your true self." He starts brushing her hair into her usual style.

"Thanks Dom. You really are the best friend in the world," Kat complaints, giving Dom a hug once he finished her hair.

"You know I will always support you. Now come on before we're late."

"Wait, before we go I want to change my shirt," Kat says, going to put on her favorite white shirt.

Once Kat finishes changing they get in Dominik's car and drive to her parents' house. On the way there Dominik gives Kat another pep talk about being her true self. They arrive at the Matthew residence ten minutes early.

"Katrina and Dominik! It's great to see you two and on time," Mr.Matthew greets them as he opens the door.

"Honey the kids are here!" He called his wife..

"Oh the happy couple is here!" Mrs.Matthew exclaims, pulling them into a hug.

"Actually, I have something to confess," Kat announces.

"What is dear?" her mom says as she brings the food to table. Her dad just calls Dominik over to help him set the table.

"Dom and I aren't dating, I lied. The truth is........I like girls," Kat confesses.

"YOU WHAT!?" her dad exclaims, dropping the plate he was holding. Dominik quickly catches the plate before it hits the ground.

"You're just confused honey," her mom claims, touching her arm. Kat snatches her arm away.

"No mom, I'm not confused. I've known ever since I was 14 that I was a lesbian," Kat says bitterly.

"Don't use that word in this household!" her father scolds.

"But what about Jamie, your boyfriend in high school?" Mrs.Matthew questions.

"It wasn't a real relationship. He was gay!" Kat exclaims.

Her parents just look at her shocked and Dominik goes over to stand beside Kat.

"Katrina you need to leave and never come back," her father demands. Her mother doesn't even look at her as she starts to clean the table.

Kat has a shocked facial expression on her face before she storms out of the house with tears running down her face.

"You two ought to be ashamed of yourself. You're really disowning your only child because of her sexuality? What happened to loving everyone equally? It took a lot of courage and confidence for Kat to come and tell you the truth that she's been hiding for years because she loves you and didn't want to disappoint you. You should love your child no matter what and accept them for who they are," Dominik lectures, before following Kat.


	11. Chapter 11

"I know how they are Dom, trust me I know. I just... I thought maybe this time they'd accept me," Kat sobs.

Dominik holds her head against his chest, attempting to comfort her.

"Kat, listen I'm sure they'll come around. You're their only daughter, they'd be idiots not to."

"That's the problem Dom. They are idiots. Nothing I could say or do would make them change their minds."

Kat lifts her head up, brushes her hair out of her face, and wipes her tears off. She thinks of all the times she nearly told her parents about her sexuality, and for the most part she wishes she had told them years ago. Then, maybe she would have been content with their answer by now.

"Kat you can't think-" Dominik starts, but Kat interrupts him.

"All of my life all I have ever wanted was their approval and their acceptance, but no matter how hard I tried I could never satisfy them. It was always 'you could've done better', never 'good job for trying your hardest.'"

"Kat you-"

She holds up her hand.

"I'm done worrying Dom. This is who I am. If they can't accept that it's their problem. Not mine," Kat speaks before cranking up the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, they just threw you guys out? Like trash?" Lucas asks in an incredulous tone.

He and Dominik decide to jog while they wait for Uncle Javier to show up. Dominik still wasn't as confident in his skills as he wanted to be so he asked his uncle to help. While on their jog around the block Dominik filled Lucas in on Kat's situation.

"Yeah, as if she were scum of the earth. All because of who she isn't straight."

"How to be a shitty parent 101," Lucas comments.

After they finish jogging the pair head back to the gym. Once there, they begin stretching and warming up.

While stretching Lucas asks, "How about you and Aaliyah?"

For a moment Dominik pauses, shocked by the question. Dominik and Aaliyah haven't seen one another in about a week. He plans on asking her on another date sometime soon, but between his training and Aaliyah's rigorous schedule he hasn't been able to find the time.

"I'm planning on asking her on another date. Maybe introduce her to my family," Dominik replies.

"That's good to hear. I know they'll love her"

"How about you and Hope?" Dominik questions.

"She's awesome man. I've never dated anyone like her."

Once they finish stretching they decide to work on their form.

Today would be the last day of training before a well needed break. He didn't want to wear himself down too much before his big fight. After tomorrow he would only have 2 weeks left to train, so he made sure to put in as much effort into today's workout as possible.

"Man today was a good day," Dominik says as he and Lucas take a water break.

"Yeah, it was. Also, I got that diet plan for you," Lucas reaches in the side pocket of his bag.

He hands the piece of paper to Dominik.

"The Hulk Smasher," Dominik reads aloud. "Really, man?"

"I know, it seems challenging but you gotta be in tip top physical shape for the fight. The Hulk is undefeated."

Dominik shakes his head, tucking the paper into his pocket while smiling.

"I understand, but why did you have to name it that?" He questions, barely containing his laughter.

With his hands over his chest Lucas looks over to Dominik.

"Do you know how long it took to come up with that name?"

Dominik shrugs.

"No clue."

"That doesn't matter, the point is I made you an effective diet plan."

Dominik and Lucas talk about Kat's situation some more and decide to go to her house after training.

"Dom! Lucas! I hope you're ready!" Uncle Javier yells as he walks toward them.

Dominik and Lucas put their water down and stand up as Javier approaches them.

"Hey tio. What are we doing today?" Dominik asks.

"Today we're gonna train for about six hours. And it's going to be tough so I hope you're ready," Javier says.

"SIX HOURS! I'LL NEVER MAKE IT!" Lucas exclaims as he dramatically falls to his knees.

"You'll get plenty of breaks payaso," Javier promises, laughing at Lucas.

Since they already warmed up they immediately started. The first thing they did was jump rope. They had to do five ten minute sets with a one minute break between each set. Next they did shadowboxing. They did three sets, ten minutes each, with a one minute break in between. After that Javier lets them take a ten minute water break.

Once their water break is over they move on to the next exercise. Dominik, Javier, and Lucas walk over to punching bags.

"You guys are going to punch the bag for five minutes. Then kick the bag for five minutes. And the last ten minutes you'll do a mixture of both. You can take a one minute break before switching," Javier explains

After they're done with the punching bags they begin to work on their core.

"Ok now I want you guys to do 50 pushups and 50 situps. Then we'll move on to burpees and planks," Javier says.

Dominik nods his head and starts immediately. Lucas sighs heavily and glares at Javier as he gets in position.

"You can take another ten minute break when you finish your planks," Javier laughs.

Once they finish their pushups and situps they move on to burpees. They do five sets, with each set being four minutes long. Next they do two minute planks ten times with 30 second breaks. Finally they get another water break.

"FINALLY! WATER!" Lucas exclaims rushing to his bottle and quickly downing the water.

"I don't understand how you became an MMA fighter yet you complain so much while training," Dominik jokes as he grabs his bottle.

"He may be dramatic but he gets serious when it's time to fight," Javier comments.

After the break they move on to plyos. Dominik and Lucas get on the treadmill and run for 45 minutes. Javier gives them a two minute break while he grabs the equipment for the exercises.

"Now let's do some box jumps," Javier says, dragging two boxes behind him.

Dominik and Lucas do five five minute sets of box jumps and then move on to kettlebell swings. They do three sets of kettlebell swings, five minutes each, before they move on to medicine ball throws. Javier makes them do three ten minute sets with the medicine balls.

"Alright the last thing I have for you guys to do is spar for 30 minutes," Javier announces while Dominik and Lucas take another water break.

After their water break they both step into the ring. While they spar Javier studies their fighting style and their form. Once they finish fighting he gives them feedback and dismisses them.

"I think I'll go see Kat tomorrow. I'm going to go home and take a nice, long, hot shower," Lucas announces while he and Dominik do their warm down stretches.

"I think I'll do the same," Dominik replies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once Dominik is finished with his shower he lay down on his bed. Aaliyah has been on his mind a lot since their last date. He misses her smile and her laugh. The way her eyes shine when she talks about something she's passionate about.

Without giving it a second thought, Dominik calls Aaliyah. She picks up the phone after the second ring.

"Hey Dom," she answers.

"Hey Leah. It's been a while since we've seen each other. How is everything?"

"Everything is great. Jade finally told her parents about her situation and they are happy for her. Hope is always talking about Lucas. And work is pretty much the same. How are things on your side?"

"I'm happy for Jade. Lucas is always talking about Hope too and Kat is going through a rough time right now. And you know my big fight is in a couple of weeks."

"I hope Kat starts to feel better soon. Jade actually went to see her today. Ever since they first met they've been getting kind of close."

"Me and Lucas are going to see her tomorrow to check up on her. But the reason I called was to ask you if you wanted to meet my family on Sunday?"

Aaliyah pauses for a second and Dominik can hear voices whispering in the background.

"I understand if you don't want to. Sorry if I'm moving too fast," Dominik apologizes.

"Oh no, it's fine. I would love to meet your family on Sunday," Aaliyah responds.

"Great, they're excited to meet you. I'll see you Sunday," Dominik says with a relieved sigh.

"Ok, see you Sunday," Aaliyah says before hanging up.


	12. Sunday Dinner

`“What if they don’t like me,” Aaliyah worries as she looks towards Dominik.

“They’re going to love you. They are excited to see you after all I’ve told them about you,” Dominik laughs.

Dominik rests one hand on Aaliyah’s leg to reassure her. Aaliyah smiles as she puts her hand on top of his. The gesture makes her calm down. The rest of the car ride Dominik tells Aaliyah about his family. His parents, grandmother, uncle, sister, brother in law, niece, and nephew are going to be there. Dominik explains that the dinner will be at his parents house and that his grandmother lives with his parents.

Finally Dominik and Aaliyah arrive at his parents house, all the nerves that vanished in the car are back. Aaliyah stops Dominik before he knocks on the door.

“How do I look,” Aaliyah asks as she nervously pulls down her dress.

She’s wearing her natural hair in a twist out.The navy blue dress she has on stops at the end of her knees and she has on a pair of black sandals to complete her outfit.

“You look beautiful,” Dominik compliments. “You shouldn’t be nervous. Calm down.”

“You’re so cheesy,” Aaliyah laughs, even though his compliment made her feel better.

It doesn’t take long for someone to answer the door after Dominik knocks. An older woman opens the door and pulls Dominik into a hug.

“Hola nijo, No te he visto en mucho tiempo!” she exclaims.

“And you must be Aaliyah,” she says, pulling her into a hug, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too Mrs.Moreno,” Aaliyah responds.

“Please, call me Maria,” she says.

Dominik’s mom leads them inside to the rest of the family. Serena and Miguel, Dominik’s niece and nephew, are sitting in the living room watching TV.

“Tio Dom!” they exclaim at the same time, as they run up to Dominik and hug him.

“Hey guys,” Dominik says, hugging them back. “This is my friend Aaliyah.”

“Hi,” Aaliyah says as she waves shyly.

“Is she your girlfriend?” Miguel asks.

“She’s not my girlfriend, yet,” Dominik answers with a smirk.

“You’re really pretty,” Serena compliments, hugging Aaliyah.

“Aww thank you,” Aaliyah says, hugging her back.

“Your dad, uncle, and Raphael are outside grilling. We’re having asado tonight. And your abuela and sister are in the kitchen,” Dominik’s mom says before heading to the kitchen.

Dominik decides to take Aaliyah outside first. When they get out there the three men are standing by the grill drinking beer and laughing.

“Dom!” one of them greets him when they see Dominik and Aaliyah approaching.

“Viejo!” Dominik replies, pulling him into a hug before hugging the other men.

“This is my friend Aaliyah,” Dominik says.

“It’s nice to meet you guys,” Aaliyah greets them with a wave.

“Oh this is your date from a few weeks ago,” one man comments.

“Yeah. Aaliyah do you remember my brother in law, Raphael. And the man grilling is my dad, Jorge, and the other man is my uncle, Javier,” Dominik says.

“Oh, I remember you from Don’s fight against Rampage,” Aaliyah says to Javier.

“Yeah I’m one of the trainers at the gym. I think I remember seeing you at the bar with Dom” he responds.

“Wow! How long have you and my son been seeing each other?” Jorge questions.

“It’s been almost two months now,” Aaliyah answers.

“It took you two months to introduce her to us?” Dom’s dad jokes.

“I wanted to make sure that she was ready for the Moreno family,” Dominik laughs.

After a few more minutes of idle chit chat, Dominick and Aaliyah go to the kitchen to meet the rest of the family.

When they enter the kitchen they see three women sitting at the table cooking. One of them is chopping up some vegetables and the other two are making cookies.

“Mi hijo, como estas?” the woman chopping the vegetables greets.

“Muy bien abuelita, y usted?” Dominik replies.

“Bien. Quién es esta chica que trajiste aquí chico?” the woman questions.

“Esta es la chica de la que te estaba hablando. Su nombre es Aaliyah,” Dominik answers.

“Hola Aaliyah. It’s nice to finally meet you,” she greets with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Aaliyah says.

“That’s my grandma,” Dominik explains, “And you remember my sister, Sophia.”

“Yeah. The food at your restaurant was absolutely delicious,” Aaliyah compliments.

“Thank you. It’s nice to see that little Dom has found a girl who’s pretty and has good taste,” Sophia jokes.

“She’s already better than the last girlfriend he had,” his mom comments.

“Mom, you said you weren’t going to bring her up,” Dominik complains.

Aaliyah and Dominik have talked about their past relationships before. Both of their exes cheated on them and then left them for the other person. Dom’s ex broke up with him three years ago and Aaliyah’s ex left her almost six years ago.

“I know, I’m sorry but you know I didn’t like her,” Maria apologizes.

“It’s fine,” Dominik says.

“Aaliyah, do you want to help us make these alfajores?” Sophia asks.

“Um sure, but I don’t know how to make them,” Aaliyah answers.

“It’s fine. We’ll teach you,” Maria says.

“Well I’m going back outside,” Dominik says, walking away. 

“Chico, take these vegetables to your father,” his grandma says, handing them to Dominik.

Once dinner was ready everyone gathered in the dining room. The Morenos made Aaliyah feel like she was a part of the family. They happily answered all her questions about their culture and she did the same for them. They shared stories about baby Dominik and they even pulled out some pictures. 

After dessert everyone goes their own way. Sophia,Raphael, and the kids decide to go home. The rest of the family go into the living room to watch a soccer match. Dominik takes Aaliyah to the backyard.

“Why are we out here?” Aaliyah questions.

“I want to show you something,” Dominik responds, grabbing her hand.

He ends up bringing her to the roof. When they get up there Dominik lie down and pat the spot next to him.

“I hope you’re not afraid of heights,” he jokes.

“If I was afraid I wouldn’t have come this far,” Aaliyah points out, lying down next to Dominik.

They lie there for a while in comfortable silence until Dominik speaks up,

“As a kid, I used to come up here all the time to look at the stars. Sometimes Sophia would come with me and we'd talk about any and everything.”

Aaliyah turns to look at him,”My dad is a perfectionist and he puts a lot of pressure on me and my sister. When we got overwhelmed we used to go into the treehouse in our backyard and talk all night. Our mom used to bring us snacks and magazines to make us feel better,” she confesses.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I can’t imagine how hard it was to live in a house where you had to be perfect,” Dominik sympathizes.

“It made me the hard worker that I am today and it made my sister a rebel,” Aaliyah says, scooting closer to Dominik. 

Dominik puts his arm around Aaliyah. Again they sit in silence, embracing one another.

“The stars look so beautiful tonight,” Aaliyah comments.

“Not as beautiful as you,” Dominik compliments.

Aaliyah laughs,”You’re so cliche that it hurts me sometimes.”

“Yet you laugh every time,” he points out.

Aaliyah looks up at Dominik. Their faces are only a few inches apart.

“What? Is there something on my face?” Dominik asks.

Aaliyah closes the distance between them, pressing her lips against his. Dominik is surprised at first but once realization hits, he kisses her back.

“That was unexpected,” Dominik comments, blushing.

“Aww you’re blushing,” Aaliyah teases.

“No I’m not,” Dominik says.

After a few more minutes, they decide to leave. Aaliyah and Dominik say goodbye to the Morenos. His grandma gives them two plates of leftovers before they walk out the door.

When Dominik pulls up to Aaliyah’s apartment building, he offers to walk her to her apartment door. 

“Do I get another kiss,” he asks, with a smirk.

“Goodnight Dom,” Aaliyah says, kissing him on the cheek.


End file.
